Terry Maher reflects on his career as a trainer and long-serving committeeman

BRENT GODDE: You are one of the longest serving committeemen in the history of the Wodonga and District Turf Club. How long has it been and what has been your motivation?

TERRY MAHER: It's been 35 years straight but I also had a stint on the committee before that. Obviously with my father, Jack, heavily involved in the club, racing was a huge part of my life growing up. I remember as an 18-year-old I used to do the scratching board on race day. I guess my motivation was to continue on the family tradition. Dad was involved in racing for as long as I can remember and was president of the club when he was only 25.

BG: I believe you stepped down from the committee during the week. What led to your decision?

TM: I probably made the decision 12 months ago that it would benefit the club if there was some new blood on the committee. Kevin Richardson, Terry Doolan and myself have been on the committee for a similar amount of time. I suppose it's a bit like football and you don't want everyone retiring at the same time and you have a bit of a succession plan in place. Malcolm Jackson was elected onto the committee on Wednesday night.

BG: It marks the end of an era with your father, Jack, also serving on the committee for 28 years. As a family, you must be proud of the achievement?

TM: I will still be heavily involved in the club and have taken on a racing director's role. On race day I will be looking after the owners and whatever else needs to be done because I'm so passionate about the club. I'm proud to say that I'm a life member of the club and won the Tony Shanahan Award for Services to Country Racing Victoria for the 2015-16 season which was a huge honour. It was the same season that Wodonga won the Club of the Year, so it was a huge night.

BG: The club is a real family affair with the Jack Maher Classic named in honour of your father and your brother, Peter, a long-time trainer at Wodonga?

TM: Peter is still training and my nephew, Jack, has worked as part of the track staff for 11 years. Young Jack loves his job and also helps his dad, Peter, with the training. My other nephew, Sam, is also involved and I hope to see him on the committee at some stage in the future. My niece, Alex, is stable foreman for John O'Shea in Sydney and recently won the Strapper of the Year in NSW for the last racing season which is a terrific achievement.

BG: With Tom O'Connor recently relocating to Warrnambool and yourself stepping down, it marks a changing of the guard as such. How big a loss is the departure of Tom?

TM: I am really proud of what Tom was able to achieve during his time at the club. Tom did an amazing job but to get the same role at Warrnambool is a fantastic achievement. To Tom's credit when he first started in the job he didn't know a lot about racing but his ability to adapt to the role is a real credit to him. It was a calculated gamble by the club to hire Tom but he certainly delivered in spades.

BG: One of Tom's biggest achievements was campaigning to the Wodonga council to gain a public holiday for the Gold Cup. How big of a game changer has that been for the club?

TM: Its been enormous. The marquees for this year are nearly all booked out and we had a crowd of 9000 last year and I think we will easily beat that this time. With a bit of luck with the weather I think we are a realistic chance of pulling a crowd of closer to 12,000. The holiday has been the catalyst for the growth. We have experimented so much with our cup date but the last Friday in November with the public holiday has proven to be a winning formula.

BG: The club recently lost Boxing Day in favour of another TAB meeting. Was that a wise decision considering Boxing Day was traditionally the clubs second biggest meeting crowd wise?

TM: It was more of a decision by Racing Victoria than the clubs. We were told we had to lose one of our two non-TAB meetings which were Caulfield Cup day and Boxing Day. So the club had to make a decision which meeting it preferred to lose. At the time our Caulfield Cup meeting was growing and the Boxing Day meeting was dwindling so we based our decision on that. I'm disappointed that we lost the meeting but as a club, our hands were tied so to speak.

BG: Obviously your brother, Peter, is well-known in racing circles as a trainer. But you also tried your hand as a trainer in the 1970s?

TM: I first got my trainers licence in 1974 and was living on the farm back then and milking cows. I trained a couple of horses and my first winner was Bermarden. I won a Corowa Cup as well. We sold the farm to the corporation and dad decided to get a few more horses and started training at Wodonga.

BG: When did Peter start training?

TM: Around that time Peter and one of his mates, Brendan Collins, built some stables in Thomas Mitchell Drive. Peter decided he wanted to be a trainer and went down to Melbourne and spent six months with Pat Bourke to learn the caper. Peter was too young to get his licence but between dad, Peter and myself we trained a lot of winners under my name. We even won the North East district trainers one season. Peter didn't start training to 1983.

BG: Who rode most of your horses during that era?

TM: Alan Fitzgerald was our stable apprentice and went on to have a long association with Richard Freyer. But we got him up here originally from Melbourne. Genieve McGrath was working at the stables at the time and they ended up getting married.

BG: Who do you rate as the best horse you trained?

TM: Golden Aura, dad bought him at the sales for $1000. He was a magnificent looking chestnut. We took him down to Melbourne and transferred the horse to the Pat Bourke stable and he won down the Flemington straight at 120/1. He broke down shortly after with bowed tendons and came back to our stable. It took us 18 months but we nursed the horse back to full fitness. He had a run at Albury and finished second. We then took him back to Melbourne and he got up at 60/1 with Chris Barrett aboard.

BG: You did well to get the horse back to full fitness when most other trainers would probably have retired the horse?

TM: Dad used to rub aloe vera on Golden Aura's legs to help his tendons. I don't know if it did any good because you don't hear of anybody doing it these days.

BG: I believe you also helped launch the riding career of David O'Prey who is now a trainer at Wodonga?

TM: Yeah, Dave rode he second winner in a race aboard Hasty Sailor at Corowa for me.

BG: One of the highlights of your brothers career would no doubt his association with Green Pick?

TM: He was an amazing horse and part-owned by Terry Doolan who is a great mate of mine and his brother Vin. It was funny, every time Green Pick raced Terry would be so confident and Vinnie would be the opposite. I'm a bit like Vinnie in that regard so Terry nicknamed us 'Doom' and 'Gloom'.

BG: Terry would of had some big collects on Green Pick then?

TM: He did, especially when Green Pick won on Cox Plate day two years in-a-row at Moonee Valley. Green Pick also won two Wodonga Cups and arguably should have won three.

BG: Did you ever play football locally?

TM: I won't hide from the fact that I was an ordinary footballer. I played with Kiewa before they merged and a bit with Wahgunyah. Peter could have been a good footballer if he wanted to and my other brother, Chris, played in a flag for Wodonga when he was only 17.

BG: I believe both Peter and yourself despise Wodonga Raiders?

TM: Yeah we do and we have to see one of their biggest supporters in Davey O'Prey every day. I love going to the footy and I used to go and watch Sam play for Wodonga most weeks but he has hung up the boots now.

IN OTHER NEWS

BG: Who do you rate as the best trainer locally in recent history?

TM: Ollie Cox was the best and the Ollie and Brian combination had unbelievable success. They have won 11 Wodonga Cups which we will never see happen again. Brian produced some of his most memorable training performances on Wodonga Cup day and would always target the meeting heavily. I know he got six winners one year and he might have even done it twice. They both really help put Wodonga on the map.

BG: What about the best jockey?

TM: A lot of jockeys started their career at Wodonga before going on to bigger and better things. Danny Beasley would have to be the most successful. Danny was an apprentice to Peter and rode a heap of group 1 winners in Sydney before having a successful stint in Singapore as well. Danny was a top bloke as well. Steve Sharman was right up there locally and started off with Ollie.

BG: Who do you rate as the biggest character you have met in racing?

TM: It's hard to go past Lizzie Aalbers. Would you believe Lizzie used to ride track work for us? I'm great friends with Lizzie and she was a good trainer before she decided to retire.

BG: What do you regard as some of the biggest changes in racing during your time?

TM: I think the changes to the rating system has been one of the most beneficial because horses used to get to a certain grade and never had a chance to win another race. But now with ratings, if you have got an older horse that drops back in ratings, you can still win a race.

BG: What do you feel is the biggest issue in racing?

TM: I think the cruelty to animals which was obviously highlighted on the ABC last week. Lloyd Williams has also come out on the record as saying that we shouldn't have whips and it's hard to disagree. I don't think whips are cruel but I can see it being an issue in the future. Dwindling crowds are also a problem because if it is not a big meeting, people just like to sit at home and watch the races and bet on their phones.

BG: I'm guessing you love a bet?

TM: I love a punt but I'm only a $10 each-way bettor. When I was training and liked one, I might have $100 on it.

BG: How would you describe the relationship between the Albury Racing Club and Wodonga and District Turf Club?

TM: It's excellent at the moment. There might have been a bit of a rivalry previously but not anymore. We are both in the same boat in that we are the at the end of the line in Victoria and Albury is similar in NSW. I believe Steve Hetherton is doing a fantastic job at Albury. It's funny, one of the horses I used to train, Steve's old man, Dick, used to be in it. It was a handy horse and won at the last ever meeting at Chiltern.

BG: Any funny stories during your time in racing?

TM: I trained Soft Crossing and a few locals like Rod Mullavey, Bill Proud and Bob Craig were in the horse. We took it to Moonee Valley and Chris Barrett was riding it. Bob was playing footy back then and wanted to leg Chris aboard the horse. The only problem was Bob didn't realise how small jockeys are and got a rush of blood and ended up throwing Chris from one side of the horse to the other and he landed on his backside in front of everyone in the mounting yard. Chris has never forgotten it and always brings it up when we see him.